Warren Worthington III

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Warren Worthington III
Cover to Excalibur #11. Art by Aaron Lopresti.
Publication information
Publisher	Marvel Comics
First appearance	X-Men (vol. 1) #1 (September 1963)
Created by	Stan Lee Jack Kirby
In-story information
Alter ego	Warren Kenneth Worthington III
Species	Human Mutant/Human Mutate (as Archangel/Death)
Team affiliations	X-Men X-Force X-Club[1] X-Factor Renegades Cheyarafim Champions of Los Angeles Defenders/Secret Defenders Hellfire Club The Four Horsemen X-Terminators Worthington Industries
Notable aliases	Avenging Angel, Death, Dark Angel, Archangel
Abilities	As Angel: Flight Enhanced strength Aerial adoption Peak physical attributes As Archangel: Metal wings Flight speed and projection of razor sharp feathers Healing factor Enhanced strength Aerial adoption Peak physical attributes

Warren Kenneth Worthington III is a fictional character, a comic book superhero in the Marvel Comics universe. Originally known as the Angel and later Archangel, Worthington is one of the founding members of the X-Men. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist/co-writer Jack Kirby, he first appeared in X-Men (vol. 1) #1 (September 1963).

A mutant, Angel originally possessed a pair of large feathered wings extending from his back enabling him to fly. He is the heir and CEO of the multi-billion dollar Worthington Industries. This privileged background resulted in Warren being stereotyped as an arrogant and self-absorbed playboy during his early years with the X-Men. This personality would ultimately be replaced with a more introspect and brooding personality in the late 1980s, when the character was revamped into the more grim and gritty "Archangel" persona.

One of the original X-Men, Angel has had a frequent presence in X-Men-related comic books throughout the years. He appeared occasionally in X-Men animated series and video games. Angel also appeared in the third film of the X-Men franchise, X-Men: The Last Stand; he is portrayed by Ben Foster.

[edit] Publication history

Angel debuted in X-Men (vol. 1) #1 and was a regular character in that title until it was revamped by Len Wein and Dave Cockrum in 1975 with the introduction of the "All-New, All-Different X-Men" (Giant-Size X-Men #1, May 1975). The title reprinted earlier issues from issue #66 to #93.

After leaving the X-Men title with issue #94, Angel and fellow X-Men Iceman were transitioned into a new series called "The Champions", which ran from 1975-1978. The series was written by writer Tony Isabella, and was largely conceived as a showcase for both former X-Men characters ^[2].

Angel would return to the X-Men briefly from Uncanny X-Men #134, officially returning to the roster in issue #138 before once again leaving in issue #148. Afterwards, the character, along with fellow founding X-Men Beast and Iceman, would join the roster of the Defenders, as part of a short-lived "revamp" of the title, in which the series was renamed "The New Defenders". Angel would stay with the title, as the group's leader, for the book's last three years of publication (1983-1986). The series was cancelled in 1986 to free up Angel and his fellow X-Men to star in X-Factor (vol. 1), which debuted in February, 1986. Angel would remain in the book until issue #70, which was the last issue before the book was revamped with an all-new roster. During his time in X-Factor, from issue #16-24, the character was presumed dead after losing his wings and apparently killing himself in a plane crash. In truth, Angel was alive and dramatically revamped as a character: given a new costume, blue skin, metallic wings which could fire blades.

Angel was added to the cast of the Uncanny X-Men title and appeared in that series and its companion series X-Men (vol. 2) for most of the 1990s. In 1996, Marvel also published a one-shot story simply called Archangel, which was written by Peter Milligan. He also appeared alongside Psylocke in a limited series called Psylocke & Archangel: Crimson Dawn (August 1997 - November 1997, 4 issues). From 1999 to 2001, Angel also featured in the series X-Men: The Hidden Years, which was set in the original X-Men's early days.

Under Joe Casey (2001-2002) and Chuck Austen (2002-2004), Angel became leader of the X-Men team that appeared in the pages of Uncanny X-Men. After Chris Claremont replaced Austen on that title, the character went away for several months before reappearing in the pages of another Claremont-written series Excalibur (vol. 3, 2004). He continued to guest-star in the Incredible Hulk title during the events of World War Hulk (2007) and then returned to the Uncanny X-Men title in which he currently stars. He simultaneously stars X-Force (vol. 3, 2008-), where the character has regained his metallic wings and has again assumed the codename Archangel.

[edit] Fictional character biography

[edit] Angel

Warren Worthington III is an Episcopalian^[3] born in Centerport, New York to Kathryn Worthington and Warren Worthington Jr. He was attending a private school in his adolescence when white feathered wings began to grow from his shoulder blades. At first, Warren felt he was a freak, but he soon learned that he could use his wings to fly and to help people. When there was a fire in his dormitory, he borrowed some props from the school's drama department, dressed up as a "heavenly" angel and rescued his friends. He soon learned that he in fact was a mutant. He donned a mask and costume and called himself the Avenging Angel and became a solo adventurer, before being recruited by Professor Charles Xavier into joining the X-Men.

Warren's status as a wealthy playboy, as well as being an outspoken individual who chafed at the notion of being told what to do, was the subject of much tension within the X-Men. In particular, Warren was in love with Jean Grey, who instead was in love with Scott Summers. Though he ultimately conceded Jean to Scott, Angel still harbors an unrequited love for Jean even as he found himself a girlfriend of his own in the form of Candy Southern.

While pursuing Sauron in the Savage Land, Angel was attacked by Pteranodons and fell to his death. He would have remained dead if not for the "Creator", who was Magneto without his costume. Magneto provided the necessary medical treatment needed to revive Angel from death and provided Angel with a new blue and white costume. Unknown to Angel, the costume also had a device installed that would let Magneto gain control over Angel, which he did months later when he made an attack on the X-Men.

Around this time, Angel outs himself as a mutant to the world around him, after discovering that not only had his uncle, Burt Worthington (who went by the name the Dazzler), murdered Warren's father, Warren Worthington, Jr.,^[4] but also poisoned his mother in order to ensure his inheritance of the Worthington fortune.^[5]

When the original X-Men were captured by the mutant island Krakoa, Professor X created a new team of X-Men to rescue them. When this new team of X-Men decided to stay, Angel and the rest of the original team, with the exception of Cyclops, left the team. He and Iceman went to Los Angeles, where they founded the Champions with Hercules, the Black Widow, and the original Ghost Rider.^[6] Following the apparent death of Jean Grey and Cyclops' subsequent exile from the team, Warren rejoined the X-Men to help pick up the slack.^[7] During this time, Angel grew increasingly disturbed by the behavior and actions of Wolverine, and after some time, quit the team in protest.

He was once kidnapped by the Morlock leader Callisto, who intended to force Angel to be her lover. Storm, Nightcrawler, Colossus, and Sprite arrived in time to stop Callisto from cutting off Angel's wings (believing that without them, Angel would be unable to flee her) and in the process, Storm fought and defeated Callisto for the right to be Morlock leader, effectively freeing Angel in the process.

Shortly thereafter, Angel joined the Defenders, with his fellow former X-Men Beast and Angel and girlfriend Candy Southern as members. Using Angel's Colorado penthouse as their base, the group had several adventures before most of the group (excluding Angel, his girlfriend, and his fellow ex-X-Men) were killed freeing fellow New Defender Moondragon from being possessed by a malevolent spirit.

Angel pondered retirement following the collapse of the Defenders team, but return of Jean Grey (having been in stasis while an alien demigod impersonated her and ultimately died) once again kept him from stepping away from the limelight. Jean Grey was furious at the increase in anti-mutant hysteria in the two years she was away, let alone the X-Men's decision to align themselves with X-Men villain Magneto. To appease Jean's desire for action, Warren organized X-Factor. He recruited his old prep school friend Cameron Hodge to run the team, unknowing of the fact that Cameron hated mutants and in particular, Warren. Since Cyclops was still married at the time, to Madelyne Pryor, Angel's love for Jean found its way to the surface as Jean turned to Warren for emotional support in lieu of Cyclops' coldness towards her. This in turn destroyed Warren's relationship with Candy Southern, after she caught Warren consoling Jean after she discovered Cyclops' marriage.

[edit] Archangel

Cover of X-Factor #24. Art by Walt Simonson.

X-Factor's formation would signal a brutal period of upheaval in Warren's life. Cameron Hodge used Warren's trust in running X-Factor to further fuel anti-mutant sentiment via portraying X-Factor as "Mutant Hunters" for hire. A run-in with the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants would result in the group's leader, Mystique, exposing the fact that Warren was financially backing X-Factor, which created a public relations nightmare for Warren, due to his out of the closet status as a mutant. Worse yet, Warren's wings were mutilated during the Mutant Massacre by the Marauder Harpoon, although Thor's intervention saved his life. When the wings developed gangrene, Cameron Hodge willfully signed the paperwork, against Angel's wishes, to have Warren's crippled wings amputated.^[8] Despondent over the loss of his wings, Warren escaped the hospital and commandeered his private jet, which exploded in the air as the rest of X-Factor watched helplessly from below.^[9] It was ultimately revealed that Hodge had sabotaged Warren's ultra-light airplane in order to finish off his nemesis, under the cover of an apparent suicide.

However, seconds before the explosion, Warren was spirited away by the ancient mutant Apocalypse. Apocalypse offered the despondent Angel a deal: serve him as his Horseman Death and he would give him his wings back. Apocalypse subjected Angel to extensive genetic alterations, giving him blue skin and organic metal wings, which could cut through almost anything and could fire his metal feathers as projectiles. He also gave him the title of "Death," the leader of his Horsemen, complete with extensive mental condition to make him obey Apocalypse's dark plans for him. .^[10] Death would be unveiled to X-Factor during their second meeting with the Horsemen, with Warren sadistically exploiting his friend's shock at seeing him alive to defeat them in combat. As he led the Horsemen of Apocalypse to attack Manhattan, it was Iceman who helped Warren break free of Apocalypse's control by making Warren think he murdered him ^[11].

Free, Warren refused to rejoin his teammates however as the effects of his metamorphosis had left Angel changed to the core. No longer was he the handsome playboy billionaire, but an emotionally damaged individual who's wings reflected his newfound bloodlust. The bloodlust was ultimately fueled when he tried to seek out Candy Southern, only to find out that she had gone missing. Warren learned that Candy had discovered all of Hodge's secrets (most notably his embezzlement of Warren's fortune to finance the creation of his anti-mutant militia "The Right") only to be abducted and lobotomized to keep her silent. In the confrontation that followed, Hodge murdered the brain-dead Candy in front of Warren. Warren responded by decapitating Cameron Hodge (who ultimately survived due to a deal with demons, granting him immortality).^[12] Warren (going by both "Death" and "Dark Angel" at this point in time) ultimately settled on "Archangel" as his new codename as he finally rejoined X-Factor during the events of Inferno.^[13]

After the Inferno and an adventure in space with his teammates, Warren met and became romantically involved with Charlotte Jones, a New York City Police officer and single mother. It was with Charlotte's help that X-Factor freed Warren from the Ravens, a cult of near-immortal psychic vampires.^[14] It was during this battle that Warren being alive was made public knowledge, allowing him to regain control over the surviving business holdings held by his family, regaining his wealth as a result. Soon afterwards, X-Factor would rejoin the X-Men following the defeat of the Shadow King on Muir Island.

[edit] Angel Again

After rejoining the X-Men, Archangel brooding behavior would lessen, after Jean revealed to Warren that his wings (which Warren long believed had a mind of their own) were actually operating off of Warren's own subconscious desires for violence. This combined with Warren's accidental decapitation of Mutant Liberation Front member Kamikaze, led to Warren to try and reject the dark cloud that had hung over his head ever since gaining his new wings. His relationship with Charlotte Jones faded as Warren began dating fellow X-Man Psylocke. In an attempt to put his dark days behind him, Warren retired his "Death" uniform in favor of the blue/white costume Magneto had made for him.

After Psylocke was eviscerated by X-Men prisoner Sabretooth during an escape attempt, Warren and the X-Men tracked him down and captured him, but not before he was able to badly damage Warren's metal wings. Over time, the damage to his wings spread. Eventually, the metal wings shattered completely, revealing that his feathered wings had been growing back within them and broke them apart from the inside. This followed a visit from Ozymandias, who told him that he was indeed one of Apocalypse's chosen ones. Reclaiming his original Angel powers, Warren still retained his blue skin color.

Angel was one of several X-Men who were present when Gambit's culpability in the events of the "Mutant Massacre" were made public by Magneto, which turned him against his teammate. Shortly afterwards, with the X-Men broke and their mansion stripped bare due to the US Government, Angel volunteered money to help keep the team going, though this would require his reclaiming full control over his family company to do so. Angel would return to the team following the events of "The Twelve", where his wings (temporarily) further mutated into wings made of light, gained talon-like hands, and healing powers, which Warren used to restore the mobility of crippled Horseman of Apocalypse War. Returning to the X-Men, Warren found his relationship with Psylocke gone, as she had begun dating new X-Men recruit Thunderbird III.

Archangel with his feathered wings

When Rogue left the X-Men to join Storm's splinter group (Xtreme X-Men), Angel was promoted to head of the X-Men's field team. Angel's squad fought the anti-mutant "Church of Humanity" group, Mystique and her newest incarnation of the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants, and tangled with the Vanisher, who had gone into business with several medical companies to create a designer drug that could give humans mutantlike powers. Angel also became entangled within a love triangle with rookie X-Man Paige Guthrie and the mutant prostitute Stacy X. Furthermore, during a battle with Black Tom Cassidy, Angel's regression to his pre-"Death" state was complete when Angel reverted to his normal Caucasian skin color when Cassidy (now turned into a plant-type vampire) attempted to drain Angel's life force from him. His healing powers from "The Twelve" also manifested themselves again, in the form of the revelation that Angel's blood had miracle healing properties (the powers themselves have since then been ignored by later writers).

[edit] Decimation

Following the death of Jean Grey, Warren and Paige took an extended leave of absence from the team. Warren began doing overseas charity work at this point, in the form of a charity called "Mutants Sans Frontières" in Zanzibar (a reference to Doctors Without Borders), where he then proceeded to help stop a coup with the aid of Professor X's newest charges from nearby Genosha. In Excalibur, Warren met up again with Callisto. As Paige reminded Warren of his history with Callisto, Viper attacked, but Warren and Callisto managed to defeat Viper together.

In Generation M, Angel faked having lost his wings in order to capture the The Ghoul,^[15] a deranged serial killer who used his retained mutant powers to murder ex-mutants.

Though not an active member of any team, Warren reunited with the other surviving original X-Men — Cyclops, Iceman, and Beast — in a mission to stop Bishop from recapturing the fugitive mutants known as the 198, though Bishop later joined them in their rescue attempt.^[16]

[edit] World War Hulk

Archangel joined with fellow former Champions member Hercules, Namora, and Amadeus Cho in order to calm down the rampaging Hulk.^[17] Afterward, Angel discovered that Amadeus Cho had hacked into Warren's bank accounts and stole several million dollars from Warren, to help him further help the Hulk.

[edit] Messiah Complex

Angel is part of the team which investigates the new mutant birth in Alaska. He is later part of the team who is looking for former Acolytes. He is next seen part of the same team, but attacking the Marauders. Warren goes against Mister Sinister, but is easily defeated once he gets over Emma Frost's mental attack. He is knocked out, but recovers just fine and is present with the X-teams for the final battle over the fate of the baby.

[edit] Divided We Stand

Angel is later seen flying over San Francisco, going to meet with Hepzibah, Warpath, and Iceman, when he stumbles across an area that looks as if the 1960s never ended. He contacts Scott and Emma, asking them for assistance before suffering the mind-altering effects of the zone, which are revealed to be caused by Martinique Jason. Angel and the three other ensnared X-Men are sent by Martinique to confront Scott and Emma. Emma manages to free them from the illusion and during the fall-out battle, Angel rescues the mayor of San Francisco. Thankful for the assistance and for the idea of having real superheroes in their city, the mayor then talks to Cyclops and Angel about helping them resettle the X-Men in San Francisco.

[edit] Archangel Returns

In X-Force (vol. 2) #4, Warren is brutally attacked by a mind-controlled Wolfsbane. During the attack, Wolfsbane savagely rips Warren’s wings from his back and runs away, taking the wings with her. For reasons yet unknown, Warren's healing factor fails to heal him, and some theorize that like Jay Guthrie (Icarus), his healing factor was directly linked to his wings. Wolfsbane later delivers them to the Purifiers, who reveal that a mysterious agent known as the Apocalypse Strain is present in Warren’s body, and is the chief component of the wings themselves. The Purifiers use the Apocalypse Strain to modify an army of Purifier agents, giving them the same metallic wings that Archangel once had. Meanwhile, although Elixir is able to heal all of Warren's injuries, he cannot regrow his wings due to interference from the Apocalypse Strain. Later in the story, Warren is gripped by a series of excruciating seizures that not only mysteriously regenerate his techno-organic wings, but also transform him back into Apocalypse's version of Death/Archangel, complete with blue skin and uniform.^[18]

X-Force attacks Archangel, who eventually asks for relief from the pain of losing his wings and transforming into Archangel.^[19] However, at the last minute, Archangel escapes into the night, intent on taking vengeance against the Purifiers. Warren arrives at the Purifiers' headquarters and slaughters most of them in a blood-maddened rage. However, once the battle is over, he reverts back to his normal Caucasian, feather-winged appearance. He comments to Logan that he can still feel the metal wings inside him however, and that they want to come out again. According to Elixir, Warren's transformation is permanent, implying that he is fully capable of transforming back into Archangel again at any time.^[20]

In an attempt to understand what was done to both Wolfsbane and Angel, the pair of them are placed in a room together, where Rahne is forced to gaze at Warren. The mere sight of him causes her to become murderous once again, and she attempts to rip the wings from Warren's body once more. The sight of a psychotic Wolfsbane, as well as the fear of having his wings torn from his body again, causes a defensive reaction in Warren, reverting him back into his violent Archangel persona.

Since then, Angel has taken dual membership with both the X-Men and X-Force, though Cyclops forbid Angel from telling the rest of the team about the return of his Archangel powers. However, while recruiting a scientist for the Beast's "Science Squad", Angel was forced to transform into Archangel in order to destroy a giant rampaging monster. Beast reacted in anger that Angel had not told him that his "Death" powers had return, creating tension between the two friends, due to Angel knowing telling Beast would expose the latest incarnation of X-Force and effectively end Cyclops' latest tenure as leader if the truth about his personal murder squad became public knowledge.

[edit] Powers and abilities

Archangel's primary power is that of natural flight, due to his large feathered wings. His wings have superhuman strength, and they have a very flexible skeletal structure that enables him to press them to the back of his torso and legs with only the slightest bulge visible under his clothing. His bones are hollow, his body processes food more efficiently than a normal human body and does not store any excess fat, and he possesses a greater proportionate muscle mass than normal. As a result, his strength, speed, agility, endurance, reflexes, eyesight, and hearing are at their peak. Elements of his anatomy are comparable to those of birds. His superhumanly sharp eyes can withstand high-speed winds which would damage the average human eye. His lungs can extract oxygen from the air at high velocities or altitudes, and he can cope with the reduced temperatures at high altitudes for prolonged periods of time, giving him a greater-than-normal capacity to endure low temperatures in areas such as the Arctic.

While he generally flies below the height of clouds, Archangel can reach almost twice this height with little effort. At his absolute maximum, he can reach the highest recorded altitude of a bird in flight — about the height above the sea level of Mount Everest — but he can only remain that high for a few minutes. Although flight is as natural a mode of transportation for Angel as for a bird, he can only fly nonstop under his own power for around half a day.

His wings have been replaced by Apocalypse with techno-organic versions which can appear the same as his natural wings.

He has undergone heavy training with Professor X, especially in mastering his flight indoors. His agility, reflexes, coordination and balance while flying appears unmatched in the Marvel Universe, and he has been seen several times defeating other superbeings much faster than him (like the Human Torch) by dodging them and having them smash against the ground or a wall at full speed. The strength in his natural wings can easily break a man's arm or leg, or even put someone through a wall.

Angel is also an accomplished hand-to-hand fighter, having defeated several of the werewolf-like homo superior when Wolverine was defeated. He was trained in hand-to-hand combat at Xavier's school; while dating Psylocke, he received a considerable amount of martial arts instruction. During his years on the team, he was given extensive training from Wolverine, and when he once surprised Wolverine after taking down some men, he said, "My father spoiled me with more than money." He also received further instruction from the Black Widow and Hercules during his days with the Champions.

As the result of a secondary mutation, Archangel also developed a healing factor and can heal others by mixing his blood with theirs, provided they have a matching blood type to Warren's. Although powerful, this mutation varies in potency. At times, he cannot aid the terminally wounded; at others, he can actually raise the recently dead. This secondary mutation suggests that he may be descended from the ancient race of Cheyarafim mutants. He is nearly immune to injury because his healing blood is constantly flowing through him. At its onset, he repaired broken bones in days, but his healing abilities have enhanced since then. However, in a recent issue of X-Force, Warren is savagely attacked and his wings are ripped from his body. His healing factor fails to work, and he instead must be healed by Josh Foley. Like the mutant Icarus, Archangel's healing factor is found in his wings and is negated once they are severed.

Aside from his superhuman powers, Warren is a highly capable businessman, and was the former chairman of the board and principal stockholder of Worthington Industries.

[edit] Techno-organic wings

Archangel possesses a set of metal wings given to him by Apocalypse. These wings are composed of a hard, sharp, organic material that resembles the "organic steel" of Colossus' body. The wings gave him the ability to project his bio-metallic feathers out from his wings at great speed and with tremendous force, enabling them to pierce even steel. Archangel does not have complete control over his feathers, which sometimes shoot from his wings against his conscious will in response to his unconscious aggressive drives. The feathers are laced with a neural inhibitor chemical, generated by Archangel's body, which induced temporary paralysis. His new wings allow him to fly at speeds much faster than his natural, organic wings. The edges of these metal wings are also quite sharp, allowing them to be used as weapons. Just like all other Horsemen of Apocalypse, his strength was upgraded and his physical attributes were heightened.

Apparently, he lost his technorganic wings when he regrew his organic ones, but the Apocalypse-induced technorganic mutation never left his system, and his natural-appearing wings contain a strain of the techno-organic virus, enough, when implanted into regular human beings, to induce a mutation similar to that of Warren's. When his feathered wings were severed from his body by Wolfsbane, his metal wings grew back in their place. Furthermore, his skin reverted back to blue, and out of nowhere, his old Archangel costume appeared. Later however, Warren's body returned to normal; the technorganic wings vanished and were once again replaced with his feathered ones. Warren and Elixir have both commented that the metal wings are now a part of him and it appears that now Warren has the ability to switch between metal and feathered wings, depending on certain situations.

[edit] Other versions

[edit] 1602

In the 1602 timeline, Warren becomes Werner, a young witchbreed (as mutants are known in this reality) who hides his mutation using garments sewn by his mother. Unfortunately, he is captured and almost burnt at the stake by the Grand Inquisitor Enrique (a.k.a. Magneto), but rescued at the last moment by Carlos Javier and his students. Safe in England, Werner befriends John Grey unaware that "Master John" is in fact a young woman disguised as a man. This friendship causes jealousy on the part of Scotius Summerisle, who knows of the deception and fears Werner also knows and is trying to court her. They almost come to blows but are reconciled when circumstances lead to Jean's death. It then comes to light that Werner was unaware of "Master John's" true sex but states that he "was in love with that young man."

[edit] Age of Apocalypse

In the Age of Apocalypse, Warren was never remade as Death by Apocalypse, nor did he ever join the X-Men. Instead, as most of New York was destroyed, Angel worked with Apocalypse's mutant elite, Magneto and his X-Men, and even the Human High Council to maintain and operate a nightclub aptly named Heaven, where humans and mutants could intermingle. When two of his employees, Scarlett MacKenzie and Karma, were apprehended and then later killed, Angel finally chose a side. Strapping himself down with a number of bombs, he attacked Apocalypse's citadel in a suicide run. His sacrifice shut down the protective shields surrounding the citadel, providing the X-Men with a much needed entrance.

[edit] Earth-5701

In Earth-5701, an Age of Apocalypse-like reality seen in Cable and Deadpool #15, Warren has also been turned into Death and helps Apocalypse conquer the world.

[edit] Earth X

In this alternate universe, Warren lost his fortune and had become an authentic "Angel", who would help anybody who needs him. He joins the New York City Police and his old friend Iceman to protect the world-altering Torch of the city against the forces of Mephisto. Later, he travels with Mister Fantastic and others to the Negative Zone in the search for the Paradise.

[edit] Exiles

Archangel appeared in the comic book Exiles as a member of Weapon X, a more ruthless version of the self-titled reality hopping team. This Archangel, hailing from Earth-714, appeared very much like his Earth-616 counterpart, even wearing a costume very similar to the one the 616-version wore at the time. Of course, this Archangel, since he was selected for Weapon X rather than the Exiles themselves, was more savage, employing the excessive use of automatic weapons. Archangel was, at some point, replaced by a sociopathic version of Ms. Marvel after he was supposedly sent home for completing his number of missions. He was actually placed in the Panoptichron gallery of fallen Exiles. Why he was placed there is unknown, but he was one of only five recruits to return home alive and intact, alongside She-Hulk, Beak, Iron Man, and Daredevil.

[edit] Marvel Zombies

Angel is infected by the zombies Rogue and Ms. Marvel. He participates in a zombie attack on the castle of Doctor Doom. The zombies had detected unaffected humans inside.

[edit] Mutant X

In the alternate reality represented in the comic book Mutant X, Warren Worthington was captured by Apocalypse much like he was in the main Marvel timeline. However, instead of the changes seen in Earth 616; blue skin and metallic wings, this fallen angel was given chalk white skin, leathery bat-wings, razor sharp claws and fangs, and the ability to breathe fire. Able to shake off Apocalypse's brainwashing, but still affected by the horrors he endured, he had become bitter, and often lashed out at his teammates, especially the child-like Brute. The Fallen, as he now called himself, joined Havok's team of mutants known as the Six. The Six was a twisted reimagining of the original X-Factor team, in a reality where Alex Summers was the first X-Man instead of his older brother Scott. The other members were Marvel Woman (Madelyne Pryor), Ice-Man (with his powers enhanced beyond his control), the Brute (a Hank McCoy who possessed green scales and an amphibious nature instead of blue fur) and Bloodstorm, an alternate version of Storm who was turned into a vampire by Dracula.

When Madelyne Pryor became possessed by the Goblin Force and took over New York, the Fallen defects from The Six alongside her, becoming her second-in-command, and later vanishing after her defeat. Unlike most of Pryor's servants, the Fallen went with her willingly. He next appeared allied again with Apocalypse against the threat of the Onslaught-like Xavier/Shadow King entity. He is one of the very few surviving heroes after the combined attack of the Goblin Force controlled Beyonder and the revived Dracula. He allies himself with a reformed Six.

He made one final appearance at the end of the series, when Doctor Strange summoned The Fallen, along with Xavier, Reed Richards, and others to help Alex prepare for his battle with the Beyonder.

A character resembling The Fallen (albeit miscolored) briefly appears in Exiles Annual #1 as one of numerous captives of a team of Exiles stationed on Earth-33629.

[edit] New Exiles

On the world of the Sons of Iron and Daughters of the Dragon, the New Exiles face a squad of alternate "core X-Men" who are loyal to Lilandra. These X-Men include an alternate version of Warren who is codenamed 'Krait' and has many similarities to his Archangel Earth-616 appearance.^[21]

[edit] Shadow-X

New Excalibur battles an evil counterpart of Angel, who is a member of the Shadow-X, the X-Men of an alternate reality in which Professor X was possessed by the Shadow King. They are brought to Earth-616 as a result of M-Day. He was later killed by one of the Shadow Captains.

[edit] Ultimate Angel

The Ultimate version of Angel (Warren Worthington III) is one of only a few mutants to be identifiably a mutant at birth. Warren comes from millionaire, mutant-bigoted parents who quickly sign guardianship of him over to Charles Xavier. Warren joins the X-Men taking the code name Angel, though he proves to be an inexperienced and reluctant fighter. There was much controversy over Angel joining the X-Men, as there were many protests of angels being a sign of God. Also, Rogue did not like the fact that he had the appearance of an angel. On an unauthorized mission to Genosha, Angel and his teammates attempt to rescue Longshot, an accused murderer who is facing a public execution. During the Magnetic North storyline, Dazzler and Warren go to the Triskelion in an attempt to rescue Polaris. After Magneto shuts down the power, Dazzler is impaled by one of Lady Deathstrike's claws, leaving her in a coma. Angel faces Professor Xavier and takes responsibility. Under the guise of expulsion, Angel joins Emma Frost's Academy of Tomorrow as a spy for Xavier.

Warren becomes close friends with Nightcrawler, initially due to the fact that they both have physical mutations. Warren gets over his initial attraction to Storm and after the events in Genosha, engages in a relationship with Dazzler. After Bishop recruits Dazzler in his new team of X-Men, she makes Angel part of the team (despite Bishop's protests). While trying to protect the Morlocks he is shot to death by Mister Sinister.^[22] He later returns to life.^[23] He is seen as a member of Colossus' enhanced team,^[24] his appearance drastically altered through the use of Banshee, the Ultimate version of Mutant Growth Hormone (MGH), resulting in Warren having an eagle-like head and feathered upper torso. The mutation seems to have progressed, as he is now completely feathered and has talons and double-jointed knees.

Angel’s powers include feathered wings, hollow bone structure, and zero body fat, allowing flight. He also has heightened strength, speed, agility, reflexes, coordination, balance, endurance, and eyesight. He does not appear to have the healing powers of his 616 Universe counterpart.

[edit] X-Men: Fairy Tales

In the first issue of X-Men Fairy Tales, based on the Japanese story of Momotarō, Archangel appears as a pheasant. He refuses to fly because he is scared of falling and failing, until Cyclops/Hitomi and Beast/Aoi convince him.

He was named Tenshi, meaning 'Angel' in Japanese.

[edit] What If...?

In "What If Archangel Fell From Grace?", Archangel is still the Angel of Death and violently murders criminals.^[25] He fights Cyclops, Jean Grey, and Beast and flees after injuring Beast and Cyclops. Cameron Hodge and N'Astirh, Master of Demons, have Candy Southern captive, and causes Archangel to extract vengeance. He teams-up with N'Astirh to create the door to Inferno, but sacrifices himself by merging with the demon to prevent Inferno.^[25]

[edit] Other media

[edit] Television

• Angel made his first ever animated appearance on the 1966 Marvel Super Heroes episode of The Sub-Mariner with the original X-Men line-up (Beast, Cyclops, Iceman, and Jean Grey).

• Angel was shown in two episodes of Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends. He appeared in "The Origin of Iceman" and "A Firestar is Born". He is voiced by William Callaway in "A Firestar is Born." In that episode, he introduces Storm to Iceman and Firestar as well as helping to fight Juggernaut.

• Archangel's origin was retold in the animated X-Men series, where Apocalypse creates the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. Played by Stephen Ouimette, Angel goes to a scientist who claims he can "cure" genetic mutations, but is actually Mystique, a servant of Apocalypse, who turns him into Death. Angel also makes several appearances in the Beyond Good and Evil four-part episode (he appears in parts II, III, and IV), and as one of the original X-Men in two flashbacks, bringing up continuity errors elsewhere as Cyclops, Beast, and Jean Grey do not know him. In this version, he loses the "death" status to once again become Archangel thanks to Rogue, who saps the evil that lay within him. In all, Angel or Archangel, appeared in 7 episodes of the series.

• He also appeared in four episodes of X-Men: Evolution, where he acted more like an 'angel', shown rescuing people from what would otherwise be life-threatening situations. Though he ultimately does not join the X-Men, he has become allies with them. In Xavier's glimpse of the future in the final episode, Angel is shown alongside other X-Men, signaling that he's finally joined them. His voice was provided by Mark Hildreth.

• Angel appears in the new series Wolverine and the X-Men voiced by Liam O'Brien. In one clip, he is shown flying with Rogue in his arms shortly before a shot hits his wing and they both go down. In the series, Angel is not an official member of the X-Men yet, as he is forced to remain off the team in order to continue to have access to the family fortune, which he has been using in order to aid mutantkind. Despite this, he does help the team in battle as an ally, as well as use his funds to help them out, including repairing the Xavier Institute in the third episode. In the eighteenth episode "Backlash", Angel officially joins the X-Men to help take down Master Mold. In "Guardian Angel", Warren snaps at his father for developing a "cure" for mutants. His wings are damaged in a clash with the MRD and are cut off. Angel is approached by Mister Sinister, who uses his technology to transform Angel into Archangel. He latter appears in the episode "Shades of Grey" as Sinister's unspeaking and ruthlessly loyal servant. He attempts and succeeds in capturing both Cyclops and Jean Grey, however, they both later escape.

[edit] Film

• Archangel was going to make an appearance in X2 as one of William Stryker's experiments, but was cut.^{[citation needed]}
• Warren Worthington III appears in the 2006 feature film X-Men: The Last Stand portrayed by Ben Foster. In the film, Warren (referred as Angel in the credits but never called by this name in the dialogue) is a young man in his early twenties, the son of a rich industrialist who is motivated by his son's mutation to create a "cure" for mutants. In a flashback, Warren as a boy (portrayed by Cayden Boyd) is seen attempting to cut off what would eventually become his wings. Warren flees before Dr. Kavita Rao could inject the cure into him, and goes to find the X-Men for help. He later makes an appearance in the final confrontation against Magneto's Brotherhood of Mutants, rescuing his father after he is thrown off of a roof by Quill, Arclight and Psylocke. Towards the end of the film, he is seen flying across the repaired Golden Gate Bridge and past several people in a park, moments before the camera shifts its focus to a depowered Magneto. Although seen in the leather X-Men uniform in promotional posters, Warren does not wear it (at least visibly), and is seen in civilian clothes most of the time.

[edit] Video games

• In the Sega Genesis release X-Men you can summon the blue-skinned/metal wing version of Warren for some assistance.

• The same blue-skinned, metallic-winged Archangel was a playable character in the Fall of the Mutants PC game.

• André Sogliuzzo was credited as Angel in X-Men Legends, but was not seen. Angel was originally intended to be a playable character, but he was cut for unknown reasons.

• Dave Wittenberg voices Angel in X-Men Legends II: Rise of Apocalypse. Angel shows up as the scout for the different areas that are visited until he is captured by Apocalypse and turned into Archangel. After fighting him as Archangel, the player follows Apocalypse to Egypt for the game's climax. In stage 5, it was mentioned that his mind and body were changed by Mister Sinister's drugs. Though Professor X says that Angel would recover from the mind-control drugs, it is unknown if Angel would recover from the body-altering drugs and turn back to his natural form. On a side note, Archangel has special dialogue with Jean Grey.

[edit] Books

• Archangel appears in the X-Men/Star Trek crossover novel Planet X. In it, he is examined by Dr. Beverly Crusher, who finds the technorganic virus implanted in his system by Apocalypse to be similar to the nanovirus used by the Borg for assimilation. He later helps Dr. Crusher program a copy of Professor X into the holodeck.
• Archangel appears in the X-Men trilogy Mutant Empire.
• In the story "On The Air" by Glenn Hauman in 1996's The Ultimate X-Men, Warren Worthington engages in a long interview.

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Angel at Marvel.com
• Marvel 1602 Angel at Marvel.com
• Ultimate Angel at Marvel.com
• UncannyXmen.net's Spotlight on Archangel